I was kind of concerned about Black Ivy. She came to me with ear mites and sore hocks. We saw the ear mites, although it was a mild case in deep inside of one ear, but we missed the sore hocks. Honestly, as a breeder, I will not sell any rabbit in this condition and I am rather trusting that other established breeders advertising a rabbit would also have that same policy. I should not be, obviously.
Black Ivy's ear mites were treated and she was good on that point throughout her quarantine. Her sore hocks, also called pododermatitis, are healing slowly. They are not oozing or bleeding anymore. They are still raw and red but becoming more pink and they are smaller. Actually the sores were really not that large when we saw them later the day we got her and if they had been bigger, we probably would have noticed them at the time of pick up. It just takes so long for them heal once they have gotten that bad.
To get the pictures of how one looks now, I had to move the fur away so the fur is closing around and adding some protection, which is when the sores begin to heal faster.
We have warming pads in our cages. Even when they are turned off, they provide a smooth flat surface that allows the rabbits to have a place to rest off of the wires if they want. I also provided her with a nesting box for a couple of reasons. One was I believed since she was in a grow out cage at five months old that she could have be impregnated and the other was to get her some soft ground to rest upon with her sore hocks.
Although I do not know with any certainty what was the likely cause of Black Ivy's sore hocks, I think that it was former conditions and not just the wires themselves, because I am seeing good improvement in her on our wires. We only ever had one of our rabbits develop a mild case of sore hocks, in that he had a bare area, but no true sore, and he had other issues that even a vet consider to be just from poor genetics. His half sister, Misty Blue, has always been quite healthy...even still fertile at four years old!
I did not plan to breed Black Ivy until the last week of March, but I was hoping with the loss of Whoops in the breeding rotation that I might breed her the first week of March instead. She will be a little over eight months then and it looks like she will be over eight pounds as well. So I am hoping her sore hocks are pretty much covered with fur by then.